Elizabethton, TN

Johnson City, TN

Parks # 88 & 89

What I Remember

The bucolic setting of Joe O’Brien field in Elizabethton was nothing short of magical. The ballpark itself wasn’t particularly notable but the field sat down in a hollow between hills all around and the Watauga River rolling by beyond the third base line. When the fog started rising off the river as the night grew cooler it gave this park a mystique that stays with me to this day. Elizabethton often wound up listed when we talked about our favorite stops that summer.

Howard Johnson Field in Johnson City was a nice old stadium too but that was not what gave it special significance on our tour. After our ballpark doubleheader that Thursday night we had been to 89 parks on the season – exactly halfway to the total of 178 we were trying to reach.

The Games

Kingsport Mets 5 Elizabethton Twins 0

Johnson City Cardinals 9 Bristol Tigers 4

The Boxes: (Click on the arrows to see more images)